Is Fortinet's FortiGuard AI Service Becoming a Key Growth Driver?

Globe and Mail

09-06-2025

Fortinet 's FTNT FortiGuard AI-powered security services have been gaining traction as more enterprises turn to real-time, automated protection to secure users, data and infrastructure. These services, which include threat intelligence, intrusion prevention, data loss prevention (DLP), antivirus and web filtering, are powered by FortiGuard Labs' global sensor network and AI models.
Strong adoption has been driving top-line growth. In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, service revenues of $1.08 billion increased 14% year over year. Security subscriptions, including FortiGuard services, grew 16% year over year and remain a key driver of service growth. It made up 57.7% of Fortinet's service revenues in the first quarter. Services now make up more than 70% of Fortinet's total revenues, underscoring the importance of recurring, AI-powered solutions in its business model.
Fortinet's continued focus on expanding FortiGuard's reach is visible in the launch of its AI-powered Workspace Security Suite. The suite protects key productivity platforms like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace with AI-based phishing detection, impersonation defense, DLP and 24/7 incident response. These capabilities are fully backed by FortiGuard's intelligence and seamlessly integrate into Fortinet's broader Security Fabric to automate threat response and improve detection accuracy.
Fortinet's AI services are a long-term growth driver. The company is deepening AI integration across its service portfolio and holds more than 500 AI-related patents. As demand grows for scalable, intelligence-led protection across hybrid and cloud environments, Fortinet expects its AI-enhanced services, such as FortiGuard, to contribute meaningfully to recurring, high-margin revenue growth.
FTNT Faces Stiff Competition
Fortinet's FortiGuard AI-powered services face growing competition from Palo Alto Networks PANW and Cisco Systems CSCO, both of which are expanding their AI security capabilities.
Palo Alto Networks is expanding its AI security footprint with the acquisition of Protect AI, a leader in securing AI and ML applications. The move strengthens Palo Alto Networks' capabilities to defend against emerging threats like model manipulation and prompt injection. It reflects the company's push to lead in next-generation cybersecurity by addressing risks in the growing AI ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Cisco Systems is boosting its AI security capabilities with updates to its XDR and Splunk platforms. It introduced agentic AI for faster threat detection and launched Foundation AI, featuring the first reasoning model for security. Cisco Systems also expanded its partnership with ServiceNow to support secure, scalable AI adoption.
FTNT's Share Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
FTNT shares have risen 9.8% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, underperforming the Zacks Security industry's growth of 21.9%. FTNT has outperformed the Zacks Computer and Technology sector's return of 1.3%.
FTNT's YTD Price Performance
From a valuation standpoint, Fortinet stock is currently trading at a Price/Book ratio of 40.88X compared with the industry's 24.58X. FTNT has a Value Score of F.
FTNT Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2025 earnings is pegged at 59 cents per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, indicating 3.51% year-over-year growth.
The consensus mark for 2025 earnings is pegged at $2.48 per share, which has been revised upward by 2 cents over the past 30 days. The estimate indicates 4.64% year-over-year growth.
Fortinet currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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